Feb. 5, 2012
NORFOLK, Va.- Old Dominion University men's tennis played host to the Yale Bulldogs this morning and unfortunately could not keep their winning streak alive. It was a hard fought team match but the second match in as many days didn't bode well as Yale won 5-2.
"Give credit to the Yale players, they executed critical points under pressure a little bit better then we did. Our guys battled hard and that is always going to be a case for any ODU Monarch," head coach Aljosa Piric said on the tough loss. "I was happy to see Albert earn his first win against a good, national ranked player, and to see Wes come through great for us with a great 7-6 win at the 5 spot. We will learn from this loss and get better from it and also look forward to playing a good conference opponent in JMU next weekend."
The day started out with the team of Can Cetinel and Albert Ochagavia, and the team of Krzysztof Muzalweski and Wesley Barrett both dropping doubles matches 8-4 and 8-5 respectively. Not all was for not in doubles, however, as Carlos Lopez-Villa and Alfredo Rodriguez won a hard fought match over Joel Samaha and Matt Saiontz 8-7 (7-5).
Rodriguez slammed a volley through the middle of the court to force a tie-breaker and Carlos Lopez-Villa shot the ball to the very edge of the baseline to secure the win.
With the team score at 1-0 favoring Yale, the Bulldogs won four out of the next six singles matches. Lopez-Villa, Rodriguez, and Cetinel all played well but lost in straight sets (6-3, 6-3), (6-3, 6-4), and (6-3, 6-3) respectively.
Albert Ochagavia picked up the first team point for the Monarchs as he beat Daniel Hoffman in straight sets 6-1, 6-2. Ochagavia hit some smooth serves and the lefty also smashed a few running forehand shots out of Hoffman's reach.
Muzalewski and Barrett both battled through tough three set matches against Marc Powers and Joel Samaha, respectively. Muzalweski lost 3-6, 6-3, 5-7, but battled Powers closely with some long extended volleys and some clutch floater shots. Barrett put away Samaha 6-7 (8-6), 6-1, 7-6 (7-4), with a drop shot over his racket followed by a ferocious finishing serve that was unserviceable.
With the loss the Monarchs fall to 2-4 early in the season, and will host James Madison University next Sunday, February 12, at 10 a.m. at the Folkes Stevens Indoor Tennis Facility.
Yale 5ODU 2
Doubles:
Daniel Hoffman/ Marc Powers over Can Cetinel/ Albert Ochagavia, 8-4
Erik Blumenkranz/ John Huang over Wesley Barrett/ Krzysztof Muzalewski, 8-5
Carlos Lopez-Villa/ Alfredo Rodriguez over Joel Samaha/ Matt Saiontz, 8-7 (7-5)
Singles:
Marc Powers over Krzysztof Muzalewski, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5
John Huang over Carlos Lopez-Villa, 6-3, 6-3
Albert Ochagavia over Daniel Hoffman, 6-1, 6-2
Erik Blumenkranz over Alfredo Rodriguez, 6-3, 6-4
Wesley Barrett over Joel Samaha, 6-7 (8-6), 6-1, 7-6 (7-4)
Zach Krumholz over Can Cetinel, 6-3, 6-3
Order of Finish:
Doubles: 1, 2, 3
Singles: 4, 3, 6, 2, 1, 5